1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of UI management and more particularly to UI configuration panels in a hierarchy of UI panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
The UI is the physical interface through which an end user communicates with an application in a computing environment. The typical function of the UI is to accept input requisite to the operation of the computer program, and to provide a visual indication of output responsive to the user provided input. The UI supports the establishment of configuration parameters controlling the operation of the computer program and its constituent elements whether functional or non-functional, sometimes referred to as artifacts, as it is well known in the art. For simplistic computer programs, only a few (if any) parameters are to be adjusted and therefore no sophisticated UI elements are required to accept and process the user supplied configuration parameters. However, for more complex computer programs, a multitude of configuration parameters are required and a correspondingly more complex arrangement of UI elements is required.
In the circumstance where a complex arrangement of UI elements is required to support the acceptance by an end user of user specific parameters for a computer program, typically one or more dialog boxes, windows, screen portions, collectively referred to as “panels” provide the user interface mechanism for presenting artifacts and accepting configuration of those artifacts. In particular, the configuration of artifacts in a panel can range from accepting manual input by the end user for a configurable characteristic of the artifact, or the panel can present a discrete number of configuration options for the configurable characteristic of the artifact. Oftentimes, the attempt at configuring a characteristic of an artifact in one panel of different configurable artifacts can result in the invocation of a completely separate panel providing additional artifacts able to be configured. Accordingly, a hierarchy of panels of configurable artifacts for a computer program can result.
As it will be understood, establishing a configuration for an artifact within a panel amongst a hierarchy of panels is of no consequence for the advanced user if the configuration is required sporadically and only for a single artifact. However, in the circumstance where configuration changes are required with frequency, or where multiple changes are required for artifacts configurable in different panels at different nodes of the hierarchy, navigating the hierarchy can require expert knowledge of the hierarchy itself by the end user and a degree of patience for the repetitive UI actions required to navigate to each panel.